Fines & Sanctions
State’s Juvenile Incarceration Rate Plummets: Report
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Connecticut is one of nine states recognized in a new national report for significantly reducing youth incarceration rates since 2001 – a drop attributed to new policies and expanded community alternatives to detention. The report by the National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) and the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Effective Justice found that Connecticut had 252 youths confined in 2011 – a drop of 60 percent from 2001 and one of the highest reduction rates in the country. Nationally, youth confinement declined by 41 percent since 2000, when a record-setting 108,802 youths were held in detention? centers awaiting trial or confined by the courts in juvenile facilities. “States have made strides in changing their policies so that youth are held accountable in age-appropriate ways, but there is more work to be done,” said Sarah Bryer, director of the NJJN.